3 player battles to watch out for in LSG vs CSK, Match 44 of IPL 2023 

The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) will take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an afternoon encounter at the Ekana Stadium on Wednesday, May 3. The fixture was initially scheduled for May 4 but was preponed due to the state elections in the city.

While both teams are placed in the top four, they are keen to return to winning ways after being on the wrong end of results recently. CSK lost a last-ball thriller against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at home while LSG lost to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a low-scoring contest.

LSG's struggles at home have been the talk of the town as they have already lost three matches at the Ekana Stadium. Their team combination, particularly their spin trio, prompts the preparation of slow pitches. But their plans have backfired, especially when it comes to chasing at the venue.

Additionally, the team might be without the services of KL Rahul for the upcoming contest. The LSG skipper sustained an injury while fielding in the loss against RCB and was far from fit while coming out to bat at No.11 during the run chase.

The upcoming clash marks the second of three consecutive afternoon matches that CSK are scheduled to play. They lost their first afternoon encounter of the season at the hands of the Punjab Kings (PBKS), largely due to their poor bowling efforts. The slow nature of the Lucknow surface, coupled with the fact that the afternoon encounter will dry the surface even further, aids CSK.

On that note, here are three player battles to watch out for in LSG vs CSK in IPL 2023.

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#1 Ruturaj Gaikwad vs Krunal Pandya

Krunal Pandya has been instrumental in LSG's home matches so far and his role with the new ball has been significant as well. He has taken some crucial wickets in the powerplay and breaking CSK's opening partnership might be the most crucial task on LSG's agenda.

The duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway have scored the bulk of CSK's runs in IPL 2023 so far. The left-arm spinner will particularly have his eye on Ruturaj, who has been a bit cagey with his approach of late.

The pair have come across each other on two occasions in the past. Gaikwad has scored 22 runs off 12 deliveries at a strike rate of 183.33 against the all-rounder without losing his wicket.

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#2 Shivam Dube vs Ravi Bishnoi

After a couple of fidgety matches, Shivam Dube has regained his form and has settled well into his role in the middle order for CSK. He has done an exceptional job taking down the opposition spinners in the middle overs and has maintained a very high strike rate as well.

Ravi Bishnoi is the chief operator for LSG in the middle overs and he got back among the wickets with a solid spell against RCB. The leg spinner already has a penchant for bowling to left-handed batters and his matchup against Shivam Dube is bound to be interesting.

The pair have faced each other across three innings to date. Dube has scored 33 runs off 20 deliveries bowled by Bishnoi, while the leg-spinner has succeeded in taking the all-rounder's wicket on one occasion.

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#3 Nicholas Pooran vs Matheesa Pathirana

Nicholas Pooran and Matheesha Pathirana have been key figures in the closing stages of the innings for their respective sides in IPL 2023.

While pace bowling is not expected to have a massive say in the contest, effective and clinical death bowling is a blessing to have irrespective of the surface.

The Sri Lankan youngster has largely landed his plans to perfection against some big names at the back end of the innings so far. He also possesses a mean slower delivery which could help his case on this sort of a surface.

It will be interesting to see how Pooran combats the unorthodox action as well as the variations in the death overs.

Who will win the contest between LSG and CSK in IPL 2023? Let us know what you think.